Mass incarceration

﻿Evidence Sheet1. Hundreds of thousands of black men are unable to be good fathers for their children, not because of the lack of commitment or desire but because they are warehoused in the prisons, locked in cages. They did not walk out on their families voluntarily; they were taken away in handcuffs, often due to a massive federal program known as the War on Drugs. 2. More African American adults are under correctional control today-in prison or jail, on probation or parole-than were enslaved in 1850, decade before the Civil War began. 3. The mass incarceration of people of color is a big part of the reason that a black child born today is less likely to be raised by both parents that a black child born during slavery. The absence of black fathers from families across America is not simply a function of laziness, immaturity, or too much time watching Sports Center. 4. Thousands of black men have disappeared into prisons and jails, locked away for drug crimes that are largely ignored when committed by whites. 5. More are disenfranchised today than in the 1870, the year the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the bases of race. 6. Young black men today may just as likely suffer discrimination in employment , housing, public benefits, jury service as a black man in Jim Crow era- discrimination that is perfectly legal, because it is based on one’s criminal record. 7. Mass incarceration has been normalized, and all of the racial stereotypes and assumptions that gave rise to the system are now embraced (or at least internalized) by people of all color, from all walks of life, and in every major political party. 8. We may wonder aloud “where have the black men gone?” but deep down we already know. 9. For more than three decades, images of black men in handcuffs have been a regular staple of the evening news. We know that large number of black men have been locked in cages. 10. We know that people released...

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...Alternative to Incarceration
CJS 230
Erin Wingfield
University of Phoenix
October 11, 2009
In the mid-1800’s, a local Bostonian civic activist John Augustus, began to identify criminal defendants who, in his mind, was ripe for rehabilitation. He sought to help some defendants out of their lives of crime by helping them obtain jobs and address the social problems leading to their criminal acts. Thus, the early roots of probation were born. In its inception, probation was seen as an opportunity for a potential probationer to complete a series of tasks that would eventually lead to a constructive and crime free life in the community. Augustus, along with volunteers, would supervise the offenders within the community, helping them find jobs, housing and act as mentors to the offender in the hopes his crimes would not be repeated. This “case management” style of supervision and monitoring outside of confinement became the seed of modern probation – a system of supervision within the community that allows an offender an alternative to removal from the community. Although there are now several modes of structured community supervision in place, they all follow the original idea of allowing an offender the opportunity to be held accountable for his crimes while working towards the goal of being a constructive society member.
Simply put, probation is a type of sentence where the offender is placed under supervision in the community as opposed to...

...now so many alternatives to incarceration that we need to explore and start using. Johnny Cash wrote a song called “Folsom Prison Blues” describing the angst of inmates, permanently immortalizing them in the publics minds. However, now that prisons across the country are running out of resources and space, it is the prison officials who are feeling the blues.
There are a number of alternatives that are used for offenders who have committed non-violent crimes. The options can range from probation all the way to public shaming. For those who have been convicted of drunk driving, public shaming might have the most impact. In some states, convicted offenders will be made to drive around with signs put on their cars stating that they have been convicted. No one convicted of this sort of crime runs around announcing what they have done because its embarrassing. In general most prefer to keep it a secret because it is humiliating. With signs pasted to their vehicles, there is no way to escape the public knowing what they have done. Another option used for drunk driving is the use of a breathalyzer. This device is installed into the offenders car and the car is actually programmed not to start if they are intoxicated. This could put a definite damper on party habits.
Another alternative that has popped up is based out of Texas. Texas is one of the last few states that enforces the death penalty and also has one of the highest...

...The Rising Cost of Incarceration
Michael Horn
Faulkner University
Courts
MJA 5360
Dr. Monica E. Jayroe
April 17, 2013
Abstract
The rising cost of overcrowded corrections and potential solutions are discussed. Alternatives to incarcerations such as probation, house arrest and fines are just a few of the topics explored. Understanding the problems with the system will help to alleviate the cost along with the correct level of justice associated with crime.
A State has a limited amount of funds to accomplish the work that needs to be done. The work includes public safety needs like police and fire, road building and maintenance, setting laws, and corrections to name only a few. Some of these services could be from State money or could be from local jurisdiction funds. This money that funds the many projects throughout a State and local government is generated from taxes that each citizen pays. If the tax payer feels the government should provide more services then the citizen would probably be in favor of raising taxes to accommodate the additional services. It could be argued that most tax payers would disagree and demand lower taxes which would in turn create fewer services. The decision would need to be made on which services should be eliminated or cut so the average citizen can pay less tax. Most people would probably agree that police and fire need not be cut, but services to prisons and corrections would not stand...

...Prison and the Alternatives: Is Incarceration the Answer to Crime?
How well do our prisons reform prisoners? What are the alternatives to prison? What is the best, most cost-effective way of protecting the public? These are some of the questions raised by individuals who are legitimately concerned not only with where their tax dollars are going, but also with what is being done to break the cycle of crime within their representative communities. When prisons were first introduced to our society in 1790, the idea of rehabilitation as an alternative to corporal or spiritual punishment was adopted and the belief that if inmates were forced to examine their conduct in confinement, repentance and religious conversion could occur. David Cayley, a reporter for the CBS show Ideas, summarizes the reasons we jail people today:
In theory, we send people to prison for two reasons: first, to teach them to behave peaceably in society; secondly, to keep criminals out of sight and mind. The justice system has moved closer to the second purpose. A difficulty with sending most of those that commit offenses to prison is that it intensifies problems over the long-term because prison "dehabilitates" inmates (qtd. in Lawrence 8).
As a society, we expect these bleak, brutal facilities to correct our criminals. In fact, prisons are more likely of doing the opposite. In the words of the United Kingdom's Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, "Prisons are an expensive way of making bad...

...committing nonviolent crimes (“ Drug War Prisoner Count”). In comparison to the rest of the world the United States has the highest documented incarceration rate. While the U.S. has roughly 5% of the world’s population, it has almost 24% of the world’s prison population (“Incarceration in the United States” 1,5,6).
Is incarcerating so many people who have committed non-violent crimes benefiting our country or hurting it? There are numerous opinions on this issue. Those who believe that it does benefit our country state that building jails and prisons and incarcerating at current rates is a deterrent to others who may think about committing crimes as well as those who have committed crimes in the past. Another argument for the tougher laws that are sending non-violent offenders to jail and prison at record rates is that getting tougher in this country has led to a decrease in crime rates. Ilana Mercer, author of “Increased Incarceration Has Reduced Crime” says, “…states and the federal government began to get tough, ending early-release programs, limiting parole, passing ‘truth in sentencing’ and ‘three strikes’ laws to up the ante against violent and repeat offenders. The result? Crime rates have plunged across the board…” (Mercer 17). Another popular opinion for the continuation of harsher laws leading to higher incarceration rates is that imprisonment is a socially just punishment that brings justice to...

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Effects of Incarceration
Shane C. Favinger
Holy Names University
Introduction
The United States is known for being the home of the free, yet has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. How does this happen? Are the police too strict with the power they think they have? Do we have too many laws that people are unable to follow which then lead them to being trapped? After taking a deeper look into why the United States has such a high incarceration rate, it would seem that people make money off of prisoners. Prisons and jails can be privately owned and operated, thus making that person millions of dollars off of others shortcomings. Is this considered capitalism? There are so many questions that can be asked, but the real issue at hand is why these prisoners are not getting the proper treatment they need. Once a prisoner gets released from prison, the state gives up on them. They open the doors and say, “You’re free to go.” Most of these people have nothing, so they will go back to a poverty stricken lifestyle that will most likely get them back into prison or jail. There is an unjust system upon us, yet nobody is doing anything about it, even though it is costing the citizens of the United States tax money.
I believe that the United States needs to take a look into law enforcement and not give police officers so much power. Also, shortening the sentences of these “criminals” would give...

...Incarceration rates in The United States have grown drastically and are rapidly increasing. About 5% of the population will, on average, serve a sentence of about 60 months or more in prison . This rise in incarceration rates has disproportionally affected women . From 1988 to 2008, the imprisonment rate for women has increased by 600%, while for men it has increased by 300% . Currently about 1 million women pass through prisons every year of about 3.2 million arrests. Out of these sentences, about 67% were drug convictions.
Most of these women are in their early to mid-thirties. They are usually from fragmented families, and have had a family member of their own who has been imprisoned. Many have also been survivors of physical or sexual abuse as adults or children. Many are undereducated. Jailed women have a higher rate of HIV than those that are from similar backgrounds but not in jail. Most suffer from substance abuse problems and are unmarried mothers of minor children.
These increased incarceration rates are especially linked to the increase in drug usage and involvement for women over the past two decades. The “war on drugs”, a large problem currently facing The United States, has had the biggest impact on arrests, especially arrests of women. Women are currently more likely than men to serve time for an offense that is drug related, even though women are less likely than men to have a central in drug trade. This...

...Rehabilitation in Prison and the Disparity Between Rehabilitation and Incarceration Rates
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to examine how prison recidivism impacts our society and why there is an enormous disparity between rehabilitation and incarceration rates. Prisons are constantly being constructed and are filled to capacity. Prisons simply do not eliminate crime and criminal behavior. In fact, In the United States, in many instances, the recidivism rate is quite high, and the costs for taxpayers are billions of dollars. The problem under investigation focuses on the effectiveness of prison reform and does it provide alternative methods for men incarcerated, secondly understanding the disparities of recidivism within the criminal justice system. The challenge is does prison reform improve the person upon becoming incarcerated and does alternative prison programs transform an individual?
What causes the problem of recidivism within the criminal justice system and how does prison reform prepares individuals to return to society? Many males are incarcerated at a higher rate mainly due to a lack of male presence in the home African Americans are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system and rarely experience the same level of rehabilitation that their Caucasian counterparts do. African Americans have consistently been incarcerated ever since Emancipation without exception. The failure of...